Andrew johusou



' vWITNESSES A. JOHNSON.A PROJECTILE.

APPLICATION FILED nic. 7, 1911.

1,3 Ji l ,21, `1991911991 July 29, 1919.

INVENTOR Ana-77671;; CZHTOIZ) l To all who-m z't may concern.'

ANDREW JOHNSON, OF HASKELL, NEW JERSEY.

PROJECTILE'.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented July 29, 1919.

Application mea December 7, 1917. serial No. 206,066.

Be it known that I, ANDREW JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Haskell, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Proj ectiles, of which the following is a specification.

, This invention relates to projectiles, and

lmore particularly to an explosive shell of the incendiary type.

One of the main objects of the5 invention is to provide a shell of the character stated of l' simple construction and operation which may be readily produced at comparatively small cost. A further object is to provide a shell which is capable of containing a comparativelgy7 large amount of highly inflaml mable fluid vwhich will be ignited when the shell explodes so as to set lire to objects adthreaded nipple 5 jacent the target struck.. Another object is to provide a shell in which the elements are so related Vas to permit the shell to be quickly and easily' assembled. A lstill further object is to provide a shell which, in the event that it is not exploded by contactwith a target, will nevertheless be exploded by means of an fuse ignited at the time that'the projectile is llired from a gun. Further objects will appear from the dietailed description.

In the drawifng's: y

Figure 1 is a side'vie'wof a shell con, structed in accofrda'ncel with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinale section through the shell.-

Fig.` 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the shell as having been shot from a gun and traveling toward the target.

Theshell is of usual shape having lthe cylindrical body portion 1, the tapered nose 2 and the base 3. This shell may b e formed by casting in the usual manner from' suitable material, preferably steel so tempered as to Vbe'easily frangible solas to bereadily7 shattered into small fragments by the-force of the explosion.. The nose 2 of this *shelll is provided with an axial bore 4 which is in axial alinement with an inwardlyA directed provided at the center of base 3. This nipple'receives the outer'end of a cylindrical explosive casing 6, the outer end portion ofwhich 'is exteriorly threaded and secured in nipple 5 as at 7. This casing is provided, at 'its forward end, with'an integral reduced neck 8 disposed axially of i casing 6, this neck fitting snugly intol the bore 4 of nose 2. Casing l6 has its outer end closed by the casing a hollow screw plug 9 threaded into the same, 'this casing and the neck 8 thereof being adapted to contain the explosive charge 10. A cartridge 11 fits snugly in the outer end portion of neck 8 so as to be secured tightlytherein frictionally. This,

cartridge is open at its inner end so as to communicate directly with the neck 8, and is provided in its outer end with a percussion cap 12. This cap is adapted to be engaged by a firing pin 13 projecting inwardly from a firinghead v14 frictionally secured in the outer end of bore 4.

The hollow screw plug 9v is provided with a .central outwardly directed nipple 15. This nippleprovides a post about which may be wrapped a time fuse 16, this fuse being passed through the nipple so that a portion 17 thereof is positioned within the casing 6'so as to ignite the explosive charge 10 when the fuse is used. The coils of this fusel are held frictionally within the plug v9 between the inner face thereof and the post 15. The space between the inner surface of the wall ofthe'shell and the casing 6 constitutes a reservoir '18.' This reservoir is filled with a highly inflammable liquid such as gasolene, or any-other suitable liquid which will vbe readily ignited from the explosion of theburning.

ln assembling the shell, the bore' 4 will be closed by a plug or stopper inserted into the same, after which the proper amount of. liquid will be poured into the shell through nipple 5, the amount of liquid for a shellof the given caliber being readily ascertained by experiment. After this has been done, 6 is inserted, theneck 8 thereof ittingy snugly into bore 4, the casing being secured in position by being threaded 4into nipple 5. i The explosive c hargeinay then be placed inthe casing, and the plug 9 carrying-the fuse 16 threaded into the end thereof.r The upon its base, into neck 8, after vwhich the'liring head 14 ma be .secured in bore 4 of the nose. This she l may be sho-t. from a gun or mortar in the usual manner.` Normally, the'impact of the shell with the target to drive the head 14 inwardly so as to detonate the percussion cap 12 thus firing the cartridge 11 which acts to ignite the .explosive charge shell may now be stoodJ rearward thus exploding the shell..

will be suii'cient This explosion will first shatter the inner j foree of the explosion casing 6 so as to ignitethe liquid contained within the shell, the body of the shell being shattered practically simultaneously with the explosion of rtheexplosive charge` and the ignition of the liquid, the flaming liquid being thus spread over a comparatively Vgreat area Vby the force of the explosion so as to ignite objects in the neighborhood of the target struck. The fuse 16 will be ignited when the shell is fired from a gun. In the event that the .object aimed at is not struck, the fuse will act to ignite the eX- plosivecharge in casing 6 thus insuring explosion of the shell. This fuse may be made in suitable lengths, zbe graduated or marked so that the length of the fuse may be regulated in accordance with the distance of the target away from the gun, to insure explosion of the shell at the instant it reaches the target, or very nearly so.

It -wil1 be seen that I have provided a projectile of very simple construction and operation which may be manufactured at low cost, the various elements of which are so related as to be quickly and easily sembled, the-body of the shell constituting a reservoir which is adapted to contain a comparatively large `amount of a highly inflammable liquid which will be ignited when the shell is exploded and scattered, by the over a comparatively great area..

vWhat I claim is:

l. In aprojectile, a body having a chargecontaining chamber, a closure therefor, said closure having a receiving space, a nipple extending thereinto, and a fuse 1n said spacewrapped around the nipple, and said fuse extending into the chamber.

2. AIn a projectile, av hollow body having an axial bore at the nose and an axial bore at the base, a charge-containing casing bridging said bores and disposed in the bore of the base, said casing having a reduced port1on disposed in the bore of the nose,

said reduced portion serving to provide ineii'e'ct a fuse for the remainder of the charge of the casing and. rovide a shoulder at the junction of the r .uced portion with the remainder of the .casing to serve as an abutment for the charge-ater-fring to aid in shattering the easing and detonating means -at the nose of the body coperating with the fuse chargein-the reduced portion of the caslng.

3. In a projectile, a hollow body having an axial bore in its nose and an axial bore .1n lts base, a detonatmg member 1n the bore ried by the casing to ooperate with the detonating member, and means between the casing and the body to permit adjustment of the casing to position the firing means relative to the detonating member during assembly of the projectile.

4. In a projectile, a hollow body provided Ywith an axial bore at the nose, and with an axial bore at the base, an inwardly extending flange at the bore of the base provided with interior screw threads, the bore of the nose having a substantially smooth Wall throughout its length, a charge-containing casing having a reduced portion, the charge in said portion in effect forming a fuse for the remainder of the charge of the casing, a firing member disposed in said reduced portion, said reduced portion at the junction with -the remainder of the casing forming a shoulder for abutment with the gases 'after firing of the charge to assist in shattering the casing, said casing being insertible through the bore of the base with the reduced portion entering and closing the bore of the nose, said body adapted'to contain a liquid to coperate with the charge and to be placed in the body before insertion of the caslng, the bore of the nose permitting insertion of a temporary stopper during the filling of the body, a detonating member in the nose in advance of the reduced portion, said casing having screw threads to coperafte withthe screw threads of the base t0 permit adjustment of the casing to position its firing means relatively to the detonating member during assembly, said casingadjacent the base having interior screw threads, a plug having interior screw threads engaging interior screw threads of the casing, said base having an outwardly extending nipple, a -fuse extending through the nipple and said fuse being wrapped around the nipple and occupying the surrounding space in the plug.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses. ANDREW JOHNSON.

Witnesses:- Y

EDNA S. GRooDY, N. A. GRAVEN. 

